When the Texas baseball program officially moves to the Southeastern Conference on July 1, Longhorns head coach David Pierce won’t be coming along.
Pierce was fired on Monday, ending his eight-year tenure at Texas. His dismissal came a few weeks after a disappointing season ended with a 10-2 loss to Louisiana at the NCAA Tournament’s College Station regional. In statements released by the school, both Pierce and UT athletic director Chris Del Conte described the dismissal as a mutual decision.
“CDC and I met after the season and we mutually agreed that the best thing for the program was to go in a different direction,” Pierce said. “It’s been an honor and privilege to lead this program for the last eight years. It certainly is a time I will always cherish as a coach, and I am so appreciative of The University of Texas for the opportunity.”
Said Del Conte: “After the season, Coach Pierce and I had some time to visit about the year, the future of our program, where we are, and where we’re headed. It was a difficult decision for us both, but we have mutually agreed that we should make a change. I am so grateful for Coach Pierce and all he has poured into our baseball program for the past eight years.”
A look back at David Pierce’s tenure
Pierce, 61, signed a contract extension in 2021 and had two years remaining on a deal that paid him an annual salary of $1.2 million. According to the language in his contract, Texas owes Pierce 70% of his remaining base salary if he was fired without cause, but the decision makers still felt this was the correct time to make a change.
Pierce, who was hired from Tulane in June 2016 to replace Augie Garrido, went 295-162 at Texas. He led the Longhorns to Big 12 championships in 2018, 2021 and 2023 and to the College World Series in 2018, 2021 and 2022. The Longhorns got closest to winning a national championship with Pierce in 2021, when they finished in a tie for third place at the CWS but were sent home from Omaha by eventual champion Mississippi State.
Pierce’s career record is 494-271 in 13 years leading Texas, Tulane and Sam Houston State. He’s coached teams in 11 NCAA postseasons and won a national championship as part of Rice’s coaching staff in 2003.
Texas pitcher: This season ‘was turbulent at times’
Pierce’s Texas teams hosted three NCAA regionals and had a 25-14 showing over six trips to the NCAA tournament. His final season, however, was marred by staff strife and an underwhelming performance on the field.
Last summer, Pierce fired Woody Williams and tabbed himself as UT’s third pitching coach in as many years. He was always involved with the handling of pitchers, but Texas’ team ERA rose this season from 4.18 to 4.91 — its worst mark since 1999 — as the Longhorns struggled with injuries, establishing depth and the regression of team ace Lebarron Johnson Jr. UT assistant coach Philip Miller, a long-time Pierce lieutenant, also took an unexplained leave of absence in March and never returned.
On the field, the Longhorns went 36-24 and finished third in the Big 12. Texas lost both of its games at the Big 12 tournament and then failed to make a super regional for the first time since it missed the NCAA tournament entirely in 2019.
“(This season) was turbulent at times,” junior pitcher Ace Whitehead said after the season-ending loss to Louisiana. “We definitely had our share of adversity throughout the year, but there wasn’t a moment where we backed down from anything. The guys, tough as nails. There’s just a lot you could say, but I’m just proud of the guys and proud of the coaches.”
A few minutes after the season ended, Pierce was asked if he expected to return for the Longhorns’ 2025 campaign and SEC debut. He said the decision wasn’t his to make, but he stated that “as long as the University of Texas gives me the opportunity, they’ll get everything that I have.”
“We’re judged 100% on a win and a loss, but you’ve got to get into the ingredients of this team and the ingredients of this program to understand how good it is. That’s from our support staff throughout our players,” Pierce added. “The question of will I return? That’s not in my hands. I know how well that our team plays and I know how well our staff has worked. I’ve been doing this a long time and we’ve had a ton of success.”
Now what? Texas begins its search for a new coach
Despite Texas having a relatively successful run over his eight years, the Pierce era did not live up to the lofty and almost unrealistic standards established by the coach’s predecessors. William Disch, Bibb Falk, Cliff Gustafson and Garrido led Texas from 1911 to 2016 with the exception of a three-year stretch in which Falk served in the military. Each one coached the Longhorns for at least 19 years. Falk, Gustafson and Garrido each won two national titles in Austin, and busts of all four coaches have been erected outside of the Longhorns’ home ballpark, UFCU Disch-Falk Field, which is named for Disch and Falk.
Now a new coach will attempt to emulate that success while also leading UT into the SEC, which is widely regarded as college baseball’s best conference. Five of the last six national champions came from the SEC, and either Texas A&M or Tennessee will secure this year’s title. When it comes to average attendance, seven of the top eight nationally were SEC schools and the No. 5 draw in college baseball was the SEC-bound Longhorns.
Since Del Conte became athletic director in December 2017, Texas has not shied away from big-game hunting when it comes to hiring coaches. Former men’s basketball coach Chris Beard (Texas Tech) and current women’s basketball coach Vic Schaefer (Mississippi State), softball coach Mike White (Oregon) and track and field coach Edrick Floréal (Kentucky) were established winners elsewhere before they were hired by Texas. Bob Bowman recently left Arizona State after winning a national championship to become UT’s director of swimming and diving. And the school’s new women’s golf coach, Laura Ianello, won an NCAA title in 2018 at Arizona.
Christine Lake is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. With an extensive background in sports journalism, he covers everything from major league championships to grassroots sports events. When she’s not on the field or at the stadium, you’ll find Christine coaching youth sports teams.
